The Best of Two Worlds

The Role of Third Force Paramilitaries in the Combating of Political Violence Movements

Author(s): Doron Zimmermann
Editor(s): Rohan Gunaratna
Book Title: Combating Terrorism
Publisher(s): Marshall Cavendish Academic
Publication Year: 2005
Publication Place: Singapore

This article discusses the merits and demerits of all three options - the police, the army and the paramilitary - to counter terrorism. The intractable question of which organization is to take the operational, not to speak of the overall, lead in the fight against terrorism is intricately linked to the pros and cons of police and military organizations with respect to their suitability in the context of counter-terrorism activity; and against the backdrop of concerns by the liberal democratic state pertaining to civil liberties/political acceptability, and that of its defense relative to adequacy, doctrine/operational principles and ethics or outlook. Neither offers to satisfy all requirements, both are possessed of inadmissible or problematic characteristics, while both also possess indispensable assets.

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